NFL teams making Brandon Spikes answer for Ealey eye gouge
Former Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes faced an obvious question from potential employers at the NFL Combine.
The Gainesville (Fla.) Sun says the question went like this:
“Why did you try to gouge a player’s eyes out?”
The player, of course, was Georgia freshman running back Washaun Ealey.
And Spikes’ answer to the NFL teams that asked the question?
“I told them it’s the SEC, Florida-Georgia is a big rivalry,” Spikes said, according to the Sun. “There were a lot of emotions going on. Both sides were taking shots at each other. But that’s why I suspended myself. That’s not the way the game is supposed to be played.”
The apparent attempted eye-gouging –- cameras caught Spikes sticking his fingers inside Ealey’s facemask — occurred during Florida’s Oct. 31 victory over Georgia. Spikes was suspended for one half of the following game by Florida coach Urban Meyer, and the player extended his own suspension to a full game because, he said at the Combine, “I didn’t want young guys to think that was the right way to play the game.”
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391 comments Add your comment
wsewell525
March 2nd, 2010
8:28 am
My friend was a running back in highschool, and said people do that type of stuff all the time under a pile. So, it’s nothing new.
Spikes Ranked #602 LB in NCAA
March 2nd, 2010
8:30 am
Typcial Gator propaganda. They don’t want to talk about:
1- How Richt coach in 5 Natl Champ’s isn’t better than Meyer’s 3?
2- Why Meyer is WINLESS against Auburn if he’s so good?
3- Why Richt has coached 2x more Heisman winners than Meyer?
4- How Florida is overrated–Spikes #602 ranking, Tebow #43 ranked QB?
5- Why does Meyer leave schools every 1-6 years over his 24 year career?
6- Does an eye gouge by your team Captain reflect on the character of your Coach who chose him as Captain?
7- Why did Meyer only get to 1 Natl Champ as an Asst Coach in 15 years as opposed to Richt’s 5 National Championship games if Meyer is so good?
8- Why can’t Meyer beat a top 10 ranked team without Percy if he’s good?
9- Why does Meyer schedule teams like Charleston Southern, Troy, & Florida International if he’s good?
10- Why was Meyer 3-5 in his 1st 3 years against .750 winning % teams?
dawgster
March 2nd, 2010
8:33 am
i find it funny and sad that so few of the gator nation don’t think it was a big deal for Spikes to try and gouge out another players eye, evidently the NFL think its a big deal it would seeml…with that being said i’m sure there were things that were going on both sides and i don’t mean neccessarily a late hit from both sides that for anyone that has played the game knows that those things will happen and deserve a penalty..No, what we mean is an intent to hurt someone after the play that could have ruined the young mans career, but it didn’t so lets move on and hope Mr. Spikes has learned something and maybe the gator nation will also admit to the fact that no matter how much you hate the other team, you wouldn’t make excuses for what Mr. Spikes did..I will end this with this by saying anyone from the dawg nation that was happy about Tebow receiving a concussion should also be ashamed, there is no place on the football field before these kind of actions…..
Spikes 5.2 40 Speed Not NFL Fast Enough
March 2nd, 2010
8:41 am
I don’t think anyone here really believes Florida will beat Alabama with an inexperienced QB after losing 13 starters and 5 coaches.
Nor does anyone here think the 2 Florida Captains, Tim Tebow, or Brandon Spikes, will be drafted in the 1st round of the NFL. That really says it all. Apparently, the NFL doesn’t agree with the hype about Florida. Tebow will be lucky to get drafted in the 3rd round. Spikes will join him. Wow, what a team.
ga gator
March 2nd, 2010
8:44 am
The real question will be: Will all of the Falcon fans on here embrace Spikes as their own when he’s drafted and signed?
Spikes Ranked #602 LB in NCAA
March 2nd, 2010
8:49 am
The real question is:
Does it make sense to draft a guy with the kind of character who tried to end a players career with an eye gouge, when that player is ranked #602 at his position with 5.2 40 speed and rode the backs of others to get his success?
WonderDawg
March 2nd, 2010
8:50 am
Jeez, Dawg fans, ease up. Anyone has ever played the game at any level knows the kind of stuff players try to get away with in pileups. Spikes was over the top with the eye-gouging, but he appologized and served a suspension that even Ealey didn’t think he should get. He is still paying for the incident in terms of draft status. Give it a rest.
Florida Gators Bomb in the NFL
March 2nd, 2010
8:53 am
Urban Meyer trained players do not typically do well in the NFL, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.
I would not draft Spikes or tebow as Meyer trained players typically bomb in the NFL.
here’s a look at Meyer’s last 4 or 5 years, and how those NFL Drafts did in the NFL:
http://blogs.chron.com/fantasyfootball/2010/02/it_feels_great_to_draft_a_flor.html
Bazooka Joe
March 2nd, 2010
8:56 am
Lord of the Lizards, as a Dawg fan I agree 100% It was a stupid act for Spikes to do that and I was as fired up as anyone when I saw it (and no he’s not the only one doing it – those scrums can get pretty nasty). However I think you hit the nail on the head regarding how a team reacts to something like that. The difference between UGA and UF isnt talent – we get our share of that and should be able to compete with ANYBODY. However as far as the Gators are concerned its mental, and for the life of me I cant understand why we cant get it out of our heads – even after a win. Maybe we need to get a run of 2-3 in a row tofinally get it out. Of course that is easier said than done against elite SEC teams.
Señora Weeb
March 2nd, 2010
9:00 am
I doubt is Brandon Spikes plays even close to the dirty infighting in an NFL scrum. They’ll have to coach him up!
Jimmy
March 2nd, 2010
9:01 am
Coaches care about winning, no doubt. But they also care about the futures of their players. Texas basketball coach Rick Barnes was quoted as saying he would trade in a national championship if he could get all of his players to the NBA. Of course he said this for recruiting purposes. This kind of talk turns off alumni but is necessary.
IMO, Georgia does a much better job in this regard than Florida does. Some say it’s not Urban Myers job to get his players into the NFL. I say it is, if he truly cares about the future of his players, instead of just using them to win and them spitting them back out like he currently does w/ no true hopes of NFL glory. In that case I guess they’ll have to rely on the “prestigous” Florida degree that none of them bother to get in the first place???
Jimmy
March 2nd, 2010
9:02 am
Weeb,
I know these blogs are for entertainment purposes and all, so I appreciate your attempt at humor. But in the future, could you please come up w/ some new material?? You come up w/the same lame crap every day. It’s not even funny. Actually it’s never been funny. You can do much better. Thanks.
Lane Kiffin
March 2nd, 2010
9:04 am
The type of behavior exhibited by Spikes is horrible and I would not tolerate it. I will always run clean programs and not tolerate any thuggery…..well except armed robbery the day before a big game. Well there was that time I was drunk and wrecked my car with a couple of “hostesses” in the back seat. Also there was that time I called Urban Meyer a cheater and liar then it turned out he was not. Other than that, I will always be clean. Well I did forget to mention that Reggie Bush thing when I was first at USC. I hope the NCAA forgets all about that incident. I also hope Layla forgets about the “hoochies in my car”.
JOHN L.
March 2nd, 2010
9:04 am
THIS RIVALRY GOES IN DECADES, YOUR TIME IS OVER debose. IT’S THE DOGS TURN NOW! GO DAWGS!
Mel Kiper Questions Spikes Psychological Profile
March 2nd, 2010
9:04 am
Kiper say Spikes can learn the position but it’s Spike’s pyschological weakness that concerns NFL teams.
The eye gouge represents someone who doesn’t fundmanetally know the difference between right and wrong and who has some esteem issues after getting embarrased 5 or 6 times by getting his helmet knocked off, responded by trying to blind Ealey and end Ealey’s career.
I aghree with ESPN’s expert Kiper on this, no brainer. Spikes is not psychologically mature enough to be an NFL star.
Jimmy
March 2nd, 2010
9:17 am
LOL,
Some of you people crack me up. Talking on these blogs as if anybody important actually reads them. Actually I think the scouts asked Spikes that question because they want him to continue those kind of actions ON the field. It’s the NFL, they encourage that kind of brute violent mentality. They just want to make sure he can “turn if off” OFF the field. You know, so they can endorse products to us lily white folk.
poopdawg
March 2nd, 2010
9:18 am
The Dawgs can’t win but one game a year against UF . The Gators have definitely played well in recent years in that game . Tebow has been such a huge factor in those games, his absence will be interesting. As far as cheap shots during football games, thats a very subjective discussion. My version of a cheap shot and someone else’s version is totally different. What happens on the bottom of a pile would make the Pope cringe. The bigger the game the nastier it gets , thats just football . Spikes has not and will not lose any money because of this, the questions are all to see how he handles them.
Scout Says Spike's NFL Stock is Dropping
March 2nd, 2010
9:29 am
Gator fans don’t get it. Scout says the eye gouging raised flags with a number of NFL teams they spoke with.
It will cost him millions. It was dumb.
http://florida.scout.com/a.z?s=168&p=2&c=950114&ssf=1&RequestedURL=http%3a%2f%2fflorida.scout.com%2f2%2f950114.html
Gen Neyland
March 2nd, 2010
9:31 am
King Gator : They only had 30 or so PF penalties last year..? Take ‘em to Dairy Queen, CMR..!
McDawg
March 2nd, 2010
9:31 am
Did you know that Brandon Spikes played one of the Urikah in the Lord of the Rings
Spikes Got Worse Every Year at Florida
March 2nd, 2010
9:35 am
Like Tebow, Spikes got worse every year at Florida under Meyer’s coaching.
Spikes production went from 131 tackles in 2007, to 93 in 2008, to 52 in 2009.
Something is wrong with the coaching when you see a player with talent become so much worse under Coach Meyer.
takedowndawg
March 2nd, 2010
9:35 am
poopdawg, one can assume that you enjoy very much cage fighting and the blood on the canvas(even they aren’t allowed to gouge eyes). I have always thought that Ray Lewis, if not a NFL football player, would be in jail! Remember his “little” legal problems. I believed someone died in an incident in which he was involved. I like aggression, but I don’t like or approve of thuggery. I was a middle lb for years myself. You can be aggressive without being a thug. Spikes has displayed the latter.
Tebow Got Worse Every Year at Florida
March 2nd, 2010
9:39 am
Tebow got worse too, Tebow had a lot of potential when he arrived at Florida, and after Urban Meyer’s coaching, got worse every year.
2007- 32 td’s, 13 sacks
2008- 30 td’s, 15 sacks
2009- 21 td’s, 29 sacks
ATL Fan
March 2nd, 2010
9:43 am
It is a good question to Spikes. Why should a team consider Spikes when he will act with criminal intent during a football game? Character matters, just ask Tank, PacMan, Vick, etc…I don’t think NFL teams are looking for choir boys, but criminals are at the wrong end of the spectrum.
Arena Dawg
March 2nd, 2010
9:45 am
Hopefully, the falcons don’t draft this thug. They have enough of those already on the roster.
Ponce Deleon
March 2nd, 2010
9:46 am
And all of this crying from the school who adores the dirtiest player(Hines Ward) in the NFL.
takedowndawg
March 2nd, 2010
9:51 am
“brandon spikes character” You have probably never even been on a football field. You……probably spent your time on a city basketball concrete court. And, not very good at that as well. The last guy to be picked for a scrimage game. You know yourself.
Papadawg
March 2nd, 2010
9:53 am
Tebow says Wah Wah on National TV, Coach can’t take it anymore and quits uh maybe, all your assistant coaches are gone, quality ballplayers gone pro. I think you gators have more to worry about than what the Dawgs do.
gdawginkalamazoo
March 2nd, 2010
9:53 am
I would like to see Spikes try that in the NFL. It would be the last time he did something that stupid. The problem with Spikes and the NFL teams is the psychological profiling these teams do. Kiper knows what the results can do to your draft status and unfortunately for Spikes this isn’t a good thing.
Ponce Deleon
March 2nd, 2010
9:56 am
Papadawg, we aren’t worried. We even had a 2-1 record against the leg humpers when Zook was coach. Go ahead, hump in your misery.
More Spikes Character Issues?
March 2nd, 2010
10:01 am
Urban Meyer’s players have borken the law 251 times under his leadership.
While Spikes didn’t lead the team in tackles, Brandon Spikes is one of the team leaders in this stat, with over 5 citations.
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2009-12-22/sports/os-uf-traffic-tickets-1223-20091222_1_dui-charge-charges-don-t-result-traffic-citations
Sautee Dawg
March 2nd, 2010
10:01 am
The Spikes ordeal would have had less exposure if Meyer would have handled it differently. half a game suspension against Vandy is hardly a suspension. Meyer’s burshing it to the side very lightly is more of a problem than the eye gouging. I was at the game and Spike’s helmet came off several times during the game and once Spikes had to come offf the field he was hit so hard.
None of these hits were late or blindside hits when he wasn’t looking, they were all man-up hits.
His NFL status will be hurt by his actions but, if I remember correctly Spikes apologized and Ealey accepted his apology.
Time to move on.
Dawglasville
March 2nd, 2010
10:02 am
I love it when Tech fans live their lives through the Florida Gators. What do you think Florida would have done to Tech over the last 20 years?
Bobby Boucher
March 2nd, 2010
10:02 am
“Alligators” are ornery ’cause of their “Medula Oblongata”!
G-DAWG
March 2nd, 2010
10:05 am
do the arrests count the star- i forget his name- who broke into an impound lot to get his gir friend’s car back? charges were dismissed because it was a “misunderstanding”. give credit to uf pub dept, and the gainesville folk. they are masters at keeping the truth quiet.
i would rather have a good 8-4 team every yr at uga than have the kind of behavior and deserved classless, run it up, ego crap that uf has.
Dear lizards, you do hav a much better fb team than my alma mater. we, too are not perfect. i am old school to the point that i believe ther is more to life than winning at any cost, especially in college. I guess your spikes had missed a micrbiology class and was conducting an experiment. he suspended himself because HE WAS HURT AND WOULD HAVE SEEN LIMITED PLAY AGAINST VANDY.
GO DAWGS- BUT DO IT THE RIGHT WAY!
Ponce Deleon
March 2nd, 2010
10:07 am
Who gets drafted first, Spikes or Curran?
Brandon Spikes
March 2nd, 2010
10:08 am
Why are all of the little Dawg pu$$ies so against me? Even Washaun took it like a man.
Ponce DeLeon
March 2nd, 2010
10:10 am
G-DAWG dont be so self righteous or are you too young to remember Jan Kemp, Hershels firebirds, etc…
G-DAWG
March 2nd, 2010
10:10 am
WHO IS A BETTER PERSON, SPIKES OR CURRAN. THAT IS THE REAL QUESTION. YOU KNOW WHO TALKED ABOUT THAT BOTH IN HIS BOOKS AND IN SPEECHES? BILL RUSSELL. IF YOU DO NOT KNOW WHO HE IS, LOOK IT UP AND EDUCATE ITSELF.
poopdawg
March 2nd, 2010
10:11 am
Takedowndawg, if you were a LB and ever played a down then you would not be bad mouthing Spikes. I’ve had a whole worst done to me on the bottom of a pile, Spikes was just a dumbass to be on top in plain video view.
Ponce DeLeon
March 2nd, 2010
10:12 am
I find it kind of amusing that some of the posts on here brag about how much better dawgs do in the pro’s than Gators. If that is true, how do you explain the Gator dominance in head to head matchups.
Can You Dig It
March 2nd, 2010
10:12 am
Typical Florida fans….bitch, moan and point fingers when some bash’es their team and coach…but they look like fools trying to justify Spikes conduct during the game. Spikes is nothing more than a thug…I’ll bet that he isn’t graduating at the top of his class either. Florida has a way of getting athletes with less than stellar grades in thier school (Lawerence Marsh comes to mind,…. UGA, S.Carolina Clemson,Bama all backed off him because of his poor high school grades…but he got in Florida)They have been letting athletes slide through school for a long time as long as they were contributing to their football program.Spikes is another example of the inmates running the asylum with Meyer as the warden. It eventually will all come crashing down on them and its going to be fun to watch. Florida has plenty to worry about this year…they will lose at least 4-5 games..its gonna happen…and Meyer knows it. I can’t wait for the crying and finger pointing to begin. Can You Dig It!
Ponce DeLeon
March 2nd, 2010
10:13 am
G-DAWG, don’t know if Spikes knocked up some girl and hasnt married her yet.
Spikes Team leader in 7 Traffic Citations
March 2nd, 2010
10:14 am
Brandon Spikes, did we even need to look?, is a team leader with 7 traffic voilations, indicating a lack of respect for right and wrong.
Anyone see a pattern here with Spikes?
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2009-12-22/sports/os-uf-traffic-tickets-1223-20091222_1_dui-charge-charges-don-t-result-traffic-citations
takedowndawg
March 2nd, 2010
10:16 am
“brandon spikes” character, or might one say, no character. You are up early today. Don’t you normally get up after 12:00 and then head to the local park court?
Spikes Tackles Down from 131 in 2007 to 52 in 2009
March 2nd, 2010
10:17 am
When a player drops from 131 tackles in 2007 to 52 in 2009, something is CRITICALLY wrong.
Is Spikes injured, is he mentally immature when it comes to sustaining success? Does he not care about getitng better?
jd
March 2nd, 2010
10:17 am
Its obvious that most of you think football are played by ‘tinker bells’ so to speak. If you cant handle the hits and scuffles, you dont need to play football. Maybe this is why those of you that have played, pass tense!, maybe this is why you are not playing now! Tinker bells!!!!!
Ponce DeLeon
March 2nd, 2010
10:21 am
Can You Dig It, so you think UF lets in dumber athletes than UGA? Ever heard Ealey or Sturdivant talk?
takedowndawg
March 2nd, 2010
10:21 am
poopdawg, you said that you had had alot worst done to you in a pile than eye gouging. Our question to you did it happen to you on a football field or while in jail?
Ponce DeLeon
March 2nd, 2010
10:21 am
Spikes Tackles Down from 131 in 2007 to 52 in 2009, Patrick go back to bed.